This Mayor Wants Her Entire City to Go Vegetarian

Turin’s mayor has a beef with meat. The newly elected mayor of the Piedmont area in Italy is pushing to transform the region into Italy’s first “vegetarian and vegan” city.

That’s right, an entire region of Italy on a meatless-diet.

Mayor Chiara Appendino of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement is advocating for plant-based foods over the classic, authentic meat dishes that’ve probably been refined through generations of nonnas.

Appendino, 32, was sworn into office last month. She’s the 20th mayor of Turin, and clearly has an ambitious vision that will define her tenure in office. Vegetarian and vegan diets will be a “priority” in her administration she pledged, in the unprecedented move in Italian government.

“The promotion of vegan and vegetarian diets is a fundamental act in safeguarding our environment, the health of our citizens and the welfare of our animals,” the mayor’s five-year political manifesto stated.

Her office will target the region’s youth as well, with plans to educate the city’s children on the drawbacks of meat consumption. She’s hopeful it’ll leave an impression that will stimulate change in future generations down the road.